World | India
Village writer aims to keep children smiling
To any stranger, Bijaya Kumar Mohapatra may be just another villager from a small hamlet of Orissa. But he is a man who can create envy among journalists and publishers alike.
- ANI
- Published: 00:00 January 21, 2007
Palanpur (Orissa): To any stranger, Bijaya Kumar Mohapatra may be just another villager from a small hamlet of Orissa. But he is a man who can create envy among journalists and publishers alike.
Bijaya, publisher of a children's magazine in 27 Indian languages, hails from Palanpur, a tiny hamlet in Orissa's Jagatsinghpur District and is an inspiration for many aspiring as well as senior journalists.
Despite leading a life of penury over the last 16 years, Bijaya has continued to bring a smile to children's faces.
Ever since his first Oriya publication Suna Bhauni hit the bookstands and libraries in 1990, Bijaya has never looked back. He has already published magazines in English, Bengali, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.
"I like children very much. I decided to publish the children's magazine so the knowledge and character of children can develop," said Bijaya.
His publications carry stories and poems collected by various writers who send their contributions to this noble cause. He edits and resends their copy as final scripts to the same writers to get their final nod.
The library, which is stacked with books written in different languages, is used by many children in the village.
"He edits the stories and he has a library where we go and study. This helps us a lot," said one student named Swadipta.
But the lack of finance, like any aspiring writer, has become a bane of Bijaya's life. He has sold off his ancestral property and cattle to carry forward his mission and today he is in debt to the tune of Rs500,000 (Dh41,190).
Bijaya's wish is to travel across the country and further abroad to seek help in taking out his publication and he believes the government can fulfil his wish.
He plans to publish magazines for children in another 33 different Indian languages. He also wants to publish magazines in foreign languages.
He said: "My aim is to promote national integration and to publish children's magazines in all languages. Financially, I am weak and have not reached my goal. But, I am trying to publish in all the languages of the world."
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